Multimedia, Battery Performance & Conclusion

Multimedia Performance

Unlike the AMOLED-equipped Regza Tablet AT270, Toshiba opts for an IPS display panel on the AT300. Although colors are not as punchy as on an AMOLED display, the AT300 delivers accurate color reproduction on its 10.1-inch IPS display.

Similar to the AT270, the AT300 also comes with 32GB onboard memory. The internal storage is augmented by a SD card slot which supports up to an additional 128GB of removable storage. With a total storage capacity of 160GB, the AT300 should suffice even the most demanding power users.

The AT300 comes with a 5-megapixel rear autofocus camera with LED flash and a front-facing 2-megapixel camera. How does the AT300 fare in the imaging aspect? Well, we put it to the test in our standard indoor photo test subjects: -

Battery Performance

Next, we ran the Regza Tablet AT300 on an intensive battery test, which involves a video with a resolution of 1280 x 720 pixels being looped on the unit. The test is performed under specific parameters, such as:

Screen brightness and volume at 100%

Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity turned on

Constant data streaming through email and Twitter

Test Tablets Compared

Specifications/Device

Toshiba Regza Tablet AT300 (3G)

Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1

ASUS Transformer Pad Prime

Apple iPad
(Late 2012)

Processor

Quad-core 1.2GHz

Quad-core 1.4GHz

Quad-core 1.3GHz

Dual-core A6X

Display Size

10.1-inch

10.1-inch

10.1-inch

9.7-inch

Display Type

IPS LCD

LCD

LED-backlit IPS LCD

LED-backlit IPS LCD

Display Resolution

1,280 x 800 pixels

1,280 x 800 pixels

1280 x 800 pixels

2048 x 1536 pixels

Dimensions

260 x 178.9 x 9.0mm

262 x 180 x 8.9mm

263 x 180.8 x 8.3mm

241.2 x 185.7 x 9.4mm

Weight

595g

600g

586g

652g

Battery Capacity

6600mAh

7000mAh

3300mAh

11560mAh

When it comes to battery performance, the AT300 did a fair job of lasting about five hours and 39 minutes. Compared to the Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1, the Toshiba unit fares better as it has a slightly smaller 6,600mAh battery and yet could last close to half an hour more.

However, the ASUS Transformer Pad Prime could last more than 7 hours with half the battery capacity (3,300mAh). We attributed the Toshiba slate's poorer battery mileage to its higher power consumption of 4.32W. Taking into account its overall weight, volume and battery mileage, the AT300 avoided being ranked the last due to its light form factor (585g and 9mm side profile). Of course, while it seems to be on a par with the latest Apple iPad, the truth is that the latter still has the upper hand with a Retina display that has nearly double the resolution of anything else in the market. This sips a lot of battery and the results show that in our power consumption chart. But, they've compensated it with enough battery capacity to still provide battery life that's comparable to the rest of the competition.

Outside of formal benchmarking and under normal usage conditions, the Toshiba Regza AT300 could last us a day at work with occasional internet usage, checking emails, playing games and downloading of apps. Potential buyers of the Toshiba slates (including the AT270) should note that the AT300 comes with its own proprietary charging cable. Therefore, if you forget to bring the cable and need to charge the tablet, you are out of luck. This same issue is also present with the Samsung's tablet devices. As such, you'll need to purchase extra charging cables should you need to charge your slate in more than one location.

Conclusion

With a retail price of S$799, the Toshiba Regza Tablet AT300 is a recommended buy if you are looking for a 10.1-inch Android tablet that can store your huge library of music and video files. If you do not need the storage expansion option, the AT300 becomes less appealing as there are other competitive options as well.

The S$899 ASUS Transformer Pad Prime and its more affordable sibling, the S$749 Transfomer Pad TF300 both provide an extra functionality of a keyboard dock that enables you to type more comfortably on-the-go (if the need arises). In addition, the keyboard dock doubles as a secondary battery pack to boost the battery mileage of the tablet.

The Samsung Nexus 10 could be a possible consideration since it is priced quite competitively at US$499 (S$610 at point of publication). However, its limited availability on the Google Play Store is one hurdle you need to overcome before you can lay your hands on it.

If you are not interested in any of the tablets from the Android camp, the recently announced fourth generation Apple iPad is a good alternative if you are willing to pay a premium price. At S$958, the fourth-gen iPad offers a stunning Retina display alongside the 275,000 tablet-optimized apps in the App Store.

*Update at 18th December, 2.40 pm: Toshiba Singapore has informed us that the AT300 is available now at a promotional price of S$599. No information is available at point of publication on how long the promotion will last, but we sure hope that this is going to be the new price point moving forward. Having said that, at this price point, we think the AT300 is a pretty good catch.